You're gorgeous and I love you
by UselessWreckage
Summary: Arthur tries a scheme. It is not entirely successful. Merthur fluff written on the tube. Do not expect great literature.


And then it was time for Merlin's favourite morning pastime: waking the king. Well, maybe the word favourite was pushing it a bit. He entered Arthur's bedroom carrying a large plate of breakfast - rolls, lettuce, meats - and a small, expectant smile. The food he placed at Arthur's table, the smile he kept on as he pulled the curtains aside.  
"Rise and shine," he chirped cheerfully, much as he did every day. The king in his bed groaned in reply, much as _he_ did every day. Merlin stifled a chuckle and turned to his lord with his hands on his hips, trying his best to look strict. He raised a challenging eyebrow at Arthur, who lifted his head and looked at him for a few seconds, then plunged it back down in the pillows with a grin.

"You're gorgeous and I love you," he intoned.

Merlin was puzzled. That was not one of the usual responses. His smile faltered a bit with the surprise, and his eyes narrowed. He took a tentative step towards the bed.  
"What?" he inquired.  
Arthur turned his head to look at him, the dreamy nature of his smile obliterating any doubt there might have been as to his level of consciousness - no more than a quarter awake, at best.  
"You are gorgeous," he repeated slowly, as if explaining to an imbecile, "And I love you."  
"Right," said Merlin, with a healthy amount of skepticism. He approached the bed with caution.  
"Are you feeling unwell, sire?"

This elicited a laugh, and then Merlin was under attack. It happened quickly, because even at this level of drowsiness, Arthur was a warrior. And his arms had an impressive reach. Merlin promptly found himself helplessly pressed to the king's side. Arthur's arm was still around him, and his face was buried in Merlin's neck.

"Aha," Merlin said, his smile back at full force, "This is a scheme!"  
"Mmhm," Arthur answered, smiling just as wide, an answer Merlin could feel rather than hear.  
"You figured if you could get me into the bed _with_ you, you would get to stay in it longer! You cunning sod."  
Arthur's chuckle manifested as a series of small puffs of breath against Merlin's throat.  
"I'm the king, Merlin, you can't just call me a sod whenever you like."  
As if that had ever stopped Merlin.  
"Oh, there are many other things that I'm not supposed to call you," he pointed out, letting the hand that wasn't squeezed between their chests roam Arthur's back, drawing random patterns.

"King Prat," he added by way of demonstration, and kissed Arthur's forehead. Arthur made a wordless sound of contentment which turned into an outraged cry as Merlin took advantage of his lapsed concentration to twist out of his grip and back onto the floor in a standing position. Arthur might be the strongest of the two physically, but Merlin had the advantage of a clear mind that had been up for hours.

"Come on," he urged, "Get up. There's some lovely breakfast here for you. Plenty of people would envy you these delicacies."  
"I bet none would envy me having _you_ serving the delicacies, though," Arthur grumbled. Merlin smiled.  
"Well, they don't know what they're missing."  
Another bark of laughter, then Merlin's patience was wearing. He could sympathise with Arthur's reluctance to greet the day, but things would be easier if this great clot of his would just get on with it. He grabbed a hold of the arm that had caught him earlier, and tugged.  
"I said get up, damn you," he grunted, dragging the king out of his bed.  
Arthur whined.  
"But that's unfair; I even scheemed!"  
He was being willfully uncooperative, and pouted at Merlin when the latter finally got him on his feet.

"Yes, it was a very nice scheme," said the servant, whilst unfolding a nice, white shirt of a rich material, "Almost worked. But if you want to outsmart me, you have to get up earlier in the morning - " Here, he had to pause to grab Arthur by the waist and swing him away from the bed, which he was attempting to return to.  
"Which is exactly what you're trying to avoid," he finished, breaking the brief hug to forcefully pull the shirt down over Arthur's head. He chuckled at the sour expression his lord wore in this defeat, and offered him a roll of bread as consolation. Arthur accepted, and chewed sulkily. He was slightly more agreeable throughout the rest of the dressing, to Merlin's great relief.

"Have you had breakfast?" he asked, offering up a roll and a slice of ham.  
"Of a sort," answered Merlin, gratefully accepting. Gaius's watery porridge was sufficient, but he didn't mind tasting something more substantial. They ate together in silence, Merlin electing to hand Arthur a written copy of the day's schedule rather than reading it aloud. When the food was gone, Merlin fondly brushed some crumbs off the front of Arthur's shirt, and straightened his collar, laughing quietly.  
"What?" Arthur demanded suspiciously. Merlin smiled at him.  
"You are gorgeous and I love you," he informed, and relished Arthur's wide grin for a second before kissing him softly and then tapping the first item on the list, "And you'd better get a move on unless you want to be late for the meeting with the ambassador."  
And with that, the day had truly begun, at last.


End file.
